Alaska health officials are monitoring for the new omicron variant of the coronavirus that’s raising questions and concerns around the world, even as the state reported a continued decrease in both hospitalizations and new cases.

Alaska reported 730 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death over the weekend, while hospitalizations fell to 79 COVID-19 patients statewide by Monday.

Much about the new variant is unknown — it’s not clear yet whether it is more contagious like the delta variant is or if it makes people sicker, the Associated Press reported Monday.

The variant, first detected in South Africa, was found through sequencing efforts when the country saw a sharp uptick in cases following a major decrease after a delta variant-driven surge, Zink said.

The delta variant currently makes up 99.9% of the roughly 300 cases the state’s virology lab processes weekly for genetic sequencing, according to Jayme Parker, chief of the Alaska Public Health Laboratories.

The omicron variant is markedly different from prior variants — it contains scores of potentially troubling mutations, for one — but the lab should still be able to detect it, Parker said.

The state reported 380 cases Saturday, 242 Sunday and 108 Monday.

And in that country, the new variant is becoming the more dominant variant compared to delta